NEWSLETTER
We have some resolution in the Raiders-Derek Carr saga just hours before the Super Bowl. According to Ian Rapoport, Derek Carr has informed the Raiders that he will not accept a trade to the Saints or any other team.
The Raiders are now expected to release Carr next week.
Late this week, it was reported that Derek Carr was meeting with the Saints and that a condition of that meeting was that the Raiders and Saints had the framework for a trade agreed upon.
The Raiders were unwilling to allow Carr to meet with teams without that being a factor. Letting Carrr meet with teams without a trade in place verbally was seen as a disadvantage to the Raiders. Carr met with the Saints for extended periods on two days last week.
Ultimately, it didn’t work out. While nothing has been confirmed, New Orleans likely wanted to restructure Carr’s contract before a trade was agreed to.
Re-working the deal is essential for New Orleans because they’re currently $60 million over the cap. However, as Jason Fitzgerald of OTC tweeted last night, New Orleans can create $93 million in cap space by converting almost all 2023 salaries into signing bonuses. That would open roughly $33-35 million in cap space. Still, Carr would eat up $33 million of that, leaving New Orleans with nothing and no maneuverability.
Carr informing the Raiders that he will not accept a trade confirms that theory. Carr likely feels he can do better on the open market than re-working his deal with a team that the Raiders chose.
Now Carr gets a head start on the quarterback market and can choose his destination and negotiate a new contract. The Raiders will move on from their starting quarterback of almost a decade.
